Sunday, 18 March 2012

I'd spend hours drooling over the live recordings of the Dubliners performing 'The Wild Rover'. My dancing feet would reflect the love in my heart. I was hungry, starving for a taste, even a mere nibble, of the electric energy shaking through the ground with the sound of the folk songs. If I could only get to Ireland...

Well, despite my obsession with the country's literature and accents, I've not quite made it to Ireland yet. However, I did spend St Patrick's Day this year in a delicious little Irish pub, Paddywhacks, situated beautifully right next to the university. I'd been once before, but that was at a rather ridiculous hour and the place was near deserted. Yesterday though, this was certainly not the case. I'm not normally one for crowds, but it definitely added to the atmosphere.

Green everywhere. 'Mná' written on the toilet door. Vodka and Coke in my hand, and a shamrock-covered scarf tied around my waist. The only thing that was left to make the evening perfect was the presence of a live band. I'd barely arrived when said desired band stepped onto the stage, donning banjos and penny whistles, ready to put the life into my heart.

If you've never heard live folk music, you haven't lived. I've spent twenty years of my life existing only, but now... now I've lived. As soon as they began to play 'The Galway Girl', that was it. I'd escaped from reality. Just as I'd wished, 'The Wild Rover' stole my natural energy and replaced it with adrenaline. Plus, I left that night with a Guinness/St Patrick's Day hat. I couldn't have asked for more.